# Research Project 2

> **NIH NIH P50** · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $528,475

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Problematic substance use (SU) is an ongoing epidemic across American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN)
communities, with AIAN people experiencing the highest rates of SU-related morbidity and mortality of any
racial/ethnic group. However, AIAN young men have been largely neglected by SU prevention science. There is
a lack of prevention strategies supported by science, and specifically designed for AIAN men during the critical
time as they transition from adolescents to adulthood. Moreover, no current prevention programming has been
designed to leverage contextual (e.g., historical trauma and colonization) and cultural strengths to optimize
effectiveness and sustainability. Rich cultural and traditional practices are particularly vital for AI men, yet these
practices and worldviews are largely untapped to date. Our team has spent the past two years adapting and
piloting the Common Elements Treatment Approach (CETA), an evidence-based, transdiagnostic intervention
that can be tailored to meet the unique needs of participants. The proposed study builds on this track record of
adapting CETA for Indigenous prevention science, 35+ years of research collaboration between the Johns
Hopkins Center for Indigenous Health (CIH; formerly Center for American Indian Health) and the Navajo Nation,
and CIH's decades of experience disseminating and scaling evidence-based interventions that have now
reached over 150+ AIAN communities. Led by a team of Indigenous researchers and allied co-investigators, and
in collaboration with a Community Research Council, our team will collaborate with two rural Navajo communities
to adapt CETA and test this adapted version, Hastóí Bidziil (Strong Men), in a randomized controlled trial through
the following Aims: Aim 1: Adapt CETA and associated implementation strategies for young AI men, age
18-26 years, resulting in the Hastóí Bidziil (Strong Men) intervention. Hypothesis: Standard delivery of
CETA will require modifications for cultural and gendered specific delivery of CETA for maximum community
impact. Aim 2: Determine the effectiveness of Hastóí Bidziil for reducing SU among N=160 AI men (ages
18-26) using a randomized controlled trial design. Hypothesis: Hastóí Bidziil will reduce SU among young
adult males enrolled in the intervention arm of the randomized controlled trial. Aim 3: Explore mediators and
moderators of Hastóí Bidziil, guided by the Indigenist Ecological Systems Model, to inform a precision
approach to implementation. Hypothesis: Program effectiveness will be driven by several moderating and
mediating factors which will help inform how best to scale, implement, and tailor the program if proven effective.
This project synergizes with CIRCLE's aims of advancing Indigenous and allied leadership, understanding
heterogeneous patterns of SU to further a precision public health approach to SU prevention, and building on
Indigenous sources of strength. Our focus also aligns with recent NIDA funding pri...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10913563
- **Project number:** 5P50DA058619-02
- **Recipient organization:** JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Jennifer Rai Richards
- **Activity code:** P50 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $528,475
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-09-01 → 2028-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10913563

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10913563, Research Project 2 (5P50DA058619-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10913563. Licensed CC0.

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